Speak Up On Hate Crime, Rodriguez Urges Gays

Eager to combat hate crimes directed at gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered Chicago-area residents that largely go unreported, law enforcement officials Tuesday asked victims of such attacks to trust them to provide help.

"Give us a chance," said Chicago Police Supt. Matt Rodriguez at a news conference on a reported increase in gay hate crimes. The news conference was held at the North Side's Horizons Community Center, a social agency that serves the gay and lesbian community in Chicago.

Rodriguez said Police Department statistics showed only about one-quarter of the hate crimes that Horizons has said have been reported to the agency.

And Rodriguez's numbers reflected a 20 percent decrease in sexual orientation-based attacks that varied from verbal harassment to murder, while Horizons' numbers showed a 16 percent increase in Chicago-area attacks last year.

Jerri Lynn Fields, program director for Horizons, said even the agency's numbers do not reflect all hate-based attacks Chicago-area residents suffer.

But, she said, "Most people who report attacks to us are not reporting them for criminal justice. They are calling because they need emotional support and counseling."

In all, there were 96 incidents reported to Horizons, said Toni Carrigan, director of the agency's Anti-Violence Project. There were three hate crime-based murders, compared to just one in 1995, she said.

In March, Christina Paige, a transgendered person, was found fatally beaten and stabbed in her apartment. In August, Leon Blankenfeld was abducted and found fatally stabbed and beaten in a McHenry County cornfield. And in August, Steven Billig was fatally stabbed by an acquaintance in Park Forest, reports showed.

Lorna Ozmon, a friend of Blankenfeld's, said suburban police did not take his reported kidnapping seriously until she called reporters six hours after Blankenfeld disappeared.

"Had aggressive police action been taken immediately--immediately after the abduction--Leon might be alive today," Ozmon said. "When we hear hateful words, we need to act so those words don't accelerate into actions."

"Hate crime is among the most vicious of all crimes," said Rodriguez. "We expect (people reporting such crimes) will be treated with respect and dignity. If not, our civil rights unit will want to hear about it."